The Story Continues 2009

It’s that time of year again when Becky reminds me to write a recap of the 2009 happenings at York Hills and also what we have to look forward to this year.

My memories of 2009 are pleasant and fulfilling.  We had so many nice times with great friends and new acquaintances it’s hard to count them all.  Those many days of enjoying the woods, wildlife, good horses, great trails and various types of conversations from amusing to serious just seems to make life worthwhile.  Seeing people ride back into camp with a smile and a friendly word strikes a cord in my and Becky’s heart because that is the real purpose of our efforts.

2009 brought with it the completions of some major projects that were started in 2008.  The restroom, showers and horse wash rack were completed and proved to be a great addition to our facility.  The large horse barn was straightened, roofed and sided with cedar and stained.  We completed close to a mile of wood fence and are planning to do some more.  Rocky’s clubhouse and barn at the old golf course, which I call the Rock House Ranch, was completed and I gotta tell you the inside looks even better than the outside.

We had an increase in campers in 2009 and are hoping to see even bigger attendance in 2010.  There is something about riding all day sitting around the fire, eating and drinking consumables with friends, getting up, cooking breakfast on the fire and doing it all over again.  Sounds like a life style to me.

The hidden element to this enjoyment is work and the drive behind all the work is passion and what motivates passion is thankfulness and thankfulness is a gift that breeds satisfaction and satisfaction creates enjoyment and the cycle continues so I plod on.  Did you follow that?  I guess I’m just a happy guy.

Holy cow we had a lot of neat events last year.  We had a CMO, “competitive mounted orienteering”.  If you haven’t tried this yet you need to.  It was my first time and my partner and I won.  We had a Pumpkin Pace, which is a jump course thru the woods which is timed.  We had three different live music groups.  We also had two carriage association drives.  Plus we had several group camps including area counties 4-H clubs.

This year all these are coming back plus we have already scheduled an ACTHA ride in May.  This is the American Competitive Trail Horse Association.  You must go online to sign up.

Memorial Day weekend we have booked the band Final Notice.  They will play on Sunday night and I can tell you they are good!

July 4th will bring back Wednesday Project and Joe is trying to get another band that weekend. We haven’t got Labor Day booked yet but I am working on it.

Some of you have requested electric hook-ups so I am going to try to get 4 of them ready as soon as the weather breaks.  Speaking of that, what about this winter?  I have only seen the stones in my driveway one day since Christmas.  It has made for some sleigh riding but that’s about the only good I can find about it.
We have fired up our Sunday afternoon indoor riding parties and so far haven’t missed one since the first of the year.

You probably don’t care what I do at night after dark but I’m going to tell you anyway.  Remember that little yellow colt I brought home last year for Becky.  Well he turned out to have about as much brains as a horse can have.  He is 19 months old now and he rides, drives, loads, backs, clips, takes a bath, stands to be shod which is all the normal stuff a horse does.  But Bandit does more.  He gives me a kiss, a hug, parks out, stands on his stump, shakes hands like a dog and takes a bow.  I have more to teach him but that isn’t bad.

I’ve been busy on my Saturdays and early on Sunday mornings restoring and rebuilding a buggy and sleigh.  The buggy is a 1890’s Atwood buggy which was built in Albion.  There wasn’t much left of it but enough to remake the body exactly as it was and restore the gear.  I’m going to drive it in the Albion parade in June and then it will rest in the Noble County Historical Society Old Jail Museum.  It was a joy to bring back some history that won’t go away.  I’m also in the middle of restoring a 1876 Albany Cutter.  This piece is special to me and if I don’t get it done before the weather breaks I’ll go back to it next winter.

You know it is the end of February and in six weeks we’ll be out there riding again.  We want to thank all of you for riding at our park and supporting our interests, you must understand without you it doesn’t exist.  This isn’t just about riding horses, its way more than that.  It’s about eating, relaxing, caring, helping, laughing, joking around, and loving one another in an environment of like interest.  We hope you are planning to visit us this year, we’ll be watching for you.

If you are in the woods and you thought you heard a tree fall and you see a horse standing there without a rider, look down it’s probably me.

See ya,
Dale